Herath still alive and dangerous

Michael Chammas

The Sri Lankan media woke up in a frenzy on Saturday morning after reports that spinner Rangana Herath had died in a car accident in Sydney the night before. With word of Herath's apparent death gathering momentum in Sri Lanka, team officials had to answer a barrage of phone calls from media organisations demanding to know whether Herath was still alive. One blogger posted: ''as i said its still a unconfirmed news so we can't say is it true or not? according to social media news Rangana Herath was going somewhere in his car on road of Sydney when his car crashed with another car and he died at the spot.'' The team's skipper, Mahela Jayawardene, did not waste any time proving his No.1 strike bowler was still breathing, throwing him the ball for the second over of the day.

The acknowledgment of Michael Clarke's wondrous feats last year keep rolling on. The skipper was awarded the McGilvray Medal by Jim Maxwell on Saturday morning as the ABC's cricketer of the year. He collected the medal on the same patch of turf a year ago. You'd be brave to back against him making it three in a row by the time the Poms arrive in Sydney next year.

WARNER'S STAR ON RISE

Related Content

David Warner also collected some silverware on Saturday night when he was presented with the Australian Cricket Media Association's Emerging Player award. The opener missed out narrowly on the prize a year ago to James Pattinson but was a compelling choice after a 2012 in which he became a key performer. The ACMA recognises the year's rising star but also takes into account co-operation with the cricket press corps. Other contenders were Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Wade.

DUO DOWN IN HISTORY

Advertisement

While their partnership ended in heartache on Friday, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey have enjoyed a stellar season together. It began at the SCG a year ago when they combined for an unbeaten stand of 334 against India. With Hussey bowing out of cricket at the end of this Test, the duo will likely finish as the eighth most successful partnership in Australian history. They currently sit on 3372 runs at an average of 55.27. . Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer are at the top of the list with 6081 Test runs at 51.53.

ARNOLD'S SECRET VICE

Who knew the former Sri Lanka player and now commentator Russel Arnold was a rugby league tragic? The ex-Test batsman took to Twitter on Saturday to discuss the Wests Tigers' prospects this season. ''Looks promising. Am interested to see how they will line up,'' tweeted Arnold. He then went on to bemoan the Tigers' lack of grunt in the forwards. ''A mongrel up front would be good. A guy the opposition will dread.''

MORE BEACH PLEASE

Could the artificial beach at the SCG be the way forward for Cricket Australia to entice new fans? It could be a winner if the thoughts of model Kristie McKeon reflect women of her age group. Ms McKeon, 23, is not a huge cricket fan. Asked if she would come to the cricket if there was more sand, she said: ''For sure. If I could lay down and sunbake, go in the pool, get food and drinks served, of course.''